Friday, May 13, 2011

Hunker in the WH bunker: "White House to seek 2-year extension for Mueller at FBI." I guess they've got enough trouble with the Gunwalker scandal.

(This is a repost from Thursday, 12 May 2011, courtesy of the incompetent mokes at Google Blogspot.)


"Hey, don't blame me. I'm holding up my end of the Gunwalker coverup by keeping quiet about the Terry murder investigation. The press has learned about this much from the FBI and I'm damned proud of it."

Ed Morrissey of Hot Air writes: "It might just be that Holder will be looking to spend more time with his family soon."

Given the turmoil already taking place at the CIA and Pentagon as Obama shuffles his team, an extension makes some sense. As an inducement to Republicans, the extra two years means that a Republican might get the chance to name Mueller’s eventual replacement, although it’s doubtful that any of them will complain about Obama’s nomination of David Petraeus as CIA Director. It’s one less potentially difficult Senate confirmation hearing to endure for Obama, too, a potential consideration with the ATF gunrunning scandal still being probed by Congress. Both ATF and FBI belong to the Department of Justice, which Republicans could hve stretched into a relevant topic, although that probably would have depended on the candidate and how controversial he or she may have been.

I’d bet that Obama will get little trouble from Congress in approving an extension. Still, it does seem a little like punting rather than making a required decision, and Obama could just as easily have put off making a change at the CIA by selecting a more appropriate successor to Robert Gates than Leon Panetta. For some reason, I wonder whether the reluctance to part with Mueller for the next two years may be related to Obama’s estimation of how much longer Mueller’s boss, Attorney General Eric Holder, may be sticking around. Having to deal with those two openings simultaneously would really be a headache, and given the ATF scandal and the humiliating backwalk on Gitmo and civilian trials for the 9/11 plotters, it might just be that Holder will be looking to spend more time with his family soon.


Hiring PR flacks and punting on FBI director, I guess it is time for Obama to hunker in the Gunwalker bunker.

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